Five Paths
by DreamingIce
Summary: Aka: Five things that never happened to Numair Salmalín/Arram Draper. Ever. What does our hapless mage get up to? Again, written for challenge 24 at the Dove.


**AN: Actually part of my English Assignment, how good is that? I can legitimately write fics in class! (I'm doing a connected text study with the Immortals Quartet as one half of it)**

**Five snippets about things that did NOT happen to Arram/Numair. Inspired by 'Dove's sean circle challenge 24. I wasn't so picky on the word count either this time, shortest is 93, longest is 129.**

Five Paths (aka: Five things that never happened to Arram Draper/Numair Salmalín)

**I. Corus over the Swoop...**

Numair growled inarticulately as he slammed the huge tome shut. Nothing was going to help here, he _would_ have been better off travelling with Daine and the Riders down to the Swoop. At least that would have been helpful for both him and Daine...

That moment, Jonathan burst through the door, his sapphire eyes blazing and his pale face set with anger and grief.

"Jon, what-"

"They're gone, Numair," His voice was deadly soft. "The Swoop's been destroyed, and Ozorne has Thayet, Roald and Kalasin."

Numair buried his face in his large hands in despair and guilt.

_I could have stopped it. I could have saved them._

**II. Mage Testers...**

Twelve-year-old Arram Draper scowled as he helped load yet another bundle of cloth into his family's shopfront. He could have been in Carthak right now, studying to be a great mage, away from the everyday drudgery here.

But no, even after the mage tester had declared that he had potential to go far with magical studies, his parents and kept him back here. His mother had fretted, declaring to far away for her only son to go, his father failing to find what use magic could be in everyday life, or how it could be used to earn a living.

Arram's dreams were crushed into tiny fragments that day. Now he could only listen to the stories of great mages, knowing he could never attempt to emulate them.

**III. The Coveted Black Robe...**

Nervous energy was making the tall twenty-year-old jumpy. Part of him was screeching at him to run away, far away from the folly that he was about to attempt. The more forceful part of his mind however, told him to stay firm.

To try for a Black Robe was considered by many to be both the height of achievement, and a sign of insanity. And he _was_ going to get it. He'd show the rest of his old classmates that he wasn't just a useless bookworm.

But after he was called into begin the testing, his first Word of Power went awry. Heat seemed burn Arram from the inside out as he screamed in agony before letting darkness and painlessness swallow him.

**IV. Different Proposals...**

The four sapphires and single diamond winked up at him from the silver band he held in his hands.

Was he really going to do this? Was he ready to get married, settle down? His heart told him he was, but what if she didn't think so?

Shaking his head, he banished those thoughts from his mind and tucked the ring into his breeches' pocket. Of course she wouldn't reject him.

The tall Block Robe mage checked his appearance one last time, before heading out to pick Varice up for their date.

**V. Keeping the Silence...**

Daine Sarrasri wasn't the most beautiful women at court, but her sparking personality and down-to-earth demeanour meant she never lacked admirers. In the months since the end of the Immortals War, her friendship with her teacher, Numair had strengthened. However, there was one secret that he kept from her, for fear of destroying their relationship.

He loved her. But she couldn't know that. She was so young, she deserved better than a man fourteen years her senior.

Nether the less, it still hurt him whenever he saw Daine and one of her beaus. Looking across the dance floor, he could see her smiling prettily at young Nealan of Queenscove.

Numair closed his eyes. _You always want what you can't have..._

**A/N: Don't forget to click that little button that says 'submit review'. **

**And please don't kill me for the Arram/Varice. Please. I still can't believe I wrote it myself! **

**Misha**


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